Mega

[www.echolsinsurance.org]

How do you get appointed with Mega? I want to see their brochures and rates so that I can better inform clients of how bad they suck. I tried calling, and they said you have to be a captive agent. Is this true, or was she just misinformed?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

If you want their brochures just call Mega and tell them to mail them to you. At first they'll just want to direct you to a local UGA division. Tell them you tried that but they only want to send out an agent and refuse to mail out brochures. I got mine in the mail when I told the rep on the phone that I'd contact the Maryland Insurance Administration and let them know a health insurance company is refusing to send me requested information. I got the brochures about four days later. I have every right in the world to know what my competitors are offering.

 

[STIBROKER]

SEEMS I had what he was looking for....keep us posted on how it came out.....

 

[H&L]

Okay so I stumbled on this sight while I was searching for some Mega info. I am a relatively new agent with NASE (less than 6 months). Ya'll are really hard on this company and I am certianly not so daft that I don't know about the trouble they have been in. When I was researching the company I always chalked it up to bad agents, disgruntled former agents, or people pushing inadequate policies just to make the sale.

Basically I am not here to defend Mega. I am not really in a position to since I am still pretty new to the industry.

My only question is that if I like this line of work and would like to stay in it, where else could I get my start? I am doing pretty well here but am not averse to going elsewhere. I like the independence and am not bothered at all by making phone calls, chasing leads etc. Again I am doing fairly well where I am.

Just thought I'd ask you folks. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

 

[joshril]

Career Agent

It really depends on what your goals are... If you are looking to specialize in a certain area, let us know, and maybe we can make some recommendations for you.

 

[STIBROKER]

I am doing pretty well here but am not averse to going elsewhere. .... Again I am doing fairly well where I am.

$1,000 a day /$100,000 for cancer is not doing your clients any good....

start here and lic. with all theses co's......

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

 

[Vailco]

There are much better alternatives than being a captive agent with MEGA. You've gotten your feet wet and have learned the industry. Now go independent, get appointed with all the major, reputable carriers in your state. Then you will be working for your client, not an insurance company. MEGA's plans have too many holes in them and their commissions are lower than industry standard.

Read through all the posts about MEGA on this site and here: http://www.insurance-forums.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=316. This is what made me see the light and get out after 6 months. I am in a much better place now!

 

[NHB_MMA]

Ya'll are really hard on this company and I am certianly not so daft that I don't know about the trouble they have been in. When I was researching the company I always chalked it up to bad agents, disgruntled former agents, or people pushing inadequate policies just to make the sale.

As for being hard on them, I'll never give a pass to the company that taught me to sell plans that covered misc. hospital expenses on an 80/20 basis up to 8K max., while telling people that misc. expenses are "usually the smallest portion of a hospital bill". Do more internet research (I was with MEGA in 1998 before I had internet access) and find enough hospital bills that people have actually been stuck with and you'll see why they get grilled so hard. Offhand, I cannot think of a company with worse coverage. The fair market value of a plan like that would be about 1/4 or less of what a good major medical plan costs, but everyone knows it doesn't save anywhere near that much. The most I ever saved anyone was about 30% and I exposed them to the real risk of bankruptcy in doing so.

It is definitely a case of inadequate policies. I blame the training and the company not the agents. There are some scumbag agents out there that have been in the business for many years, become aware of MEGA pitfalls, and continue to sell it as if it's the best thing out there for the client. Yet, most of the agents are new to the industry and truly don't know anything beyond what they're taught in training. Ask around and find out what people did before they starting selling for MEGA. I guarantee you you're not going to find that people left Prudential to sell MEGA.

BTW, do they still have a plan that offers major medical type coverage with no stop loss? When I was there, they did have such a plan (although poor drug coverage) but it was usually not price competitive with most other plans on the market.

My only question is that if I like this line of work and would like to stay in it, where else could I get my start? I am doing pretty well here but am not averse to going elsewhere. I like the independence and am not bothered at all by making phone calls, chasing leads etc. Again I am doing fairly well where I am.

I would really urge you to look elsewhere, because it seems you actually have the ability to make this work if you've lasted this long.

Look in the yellow pages for your nearest major metro area and find a large independent operation that carries a number of companies, what people would sometimes call a broker house. In Pittsburgh, there is an agency call Arms Insurance www.armsins.com that trains independent agents for a number of different companies. There are a couple of similar operations, although smaller. Look and see what you can find.

 

[H&L]

I certainly was not expecting so many responses so quickly. Thanks.

You know being an independent agent would be great but I do not know that I have the capitol to strike it on my own right now. It seems intuitive that it would be easier to make sales when you can tell a potential client that you are independent and represent several different companies. However, generating those initial leads may take more money than I can pony up. Any experiences yÂ’all can share on how much this has cost some of you?

Perhaps finding an independent broker (or a broker house) out there is the way to go. Probably won't be making too many changes before the end of the year but again I think this may be a good time to start looking

BTW, do they still have a plan that offers major medical type coverage with no stop loss?

Yes, Care One ValueÂ…sort of. There are limits on the amount they will pay out. So there is a coinsurance max but once you reach the limit the benefit ends.

 

[NHB_MMA]

You know being an independent agent would be great but I do not know that I have the capitol to strike it on my own right now. It seems intuitive that it would be easier to make sales when you can tell a potential client that you are independent and represent several different companies. However, generating those initial leads may take more money than I can pony up. Any experiences yÂ’all can share on how much this has cost some of you?

I'm not indy and I'm not full-time yet and not working much now, but I would recommend you find a good source of companies (or company--though there isn't much that's good in captive health) and preferably one with training. Then, you work it out of your home to start with, just like guys do with MEGA. Don't invest a ton in marketing, but instead rely on elbow grease. Pound the pavement. When you get rolling, look for a small office at that point.